Bulletin No. 67 March 19, 1923. 


, 9 ¥ an rrr R AT 
RA AH 7 iy T f vit ge } N 
IV WE, £foi ri iy 


6S i tT: COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA 


bT OREN Teams 
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS 
James F, Woodward, Secretary 


BUREAU OF OPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
George H. Ashley, State Geologist 





LEAD AND ZINC ORES NEAR PHOENIXVILLE, 
CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANTA. 


By 


Benjamin LeRoy Miller. 


Location. 


All the lead and-‘zine mines in Chester anc Montgomery counties 
are near Phoenixville, which is 25 miles west of Philadelphia on 
Schuylkill River. Most of the mines are two miles south of Phoenix- 
ville near Pickering Creek; two mines are four‘miles east of 
Phoenixville between Perkiomen Creek, Mine Run, and Audubon (formerly 
Shannonville), in Montgomery County. The map on page 12 shows the 
loeation of the mines. 


With the excention of 2. little sporndic development very recently, 
no mining has been done here in 50 years. ‘The underground workings 
are inaccessible and there are ho places where the lodes can be seen 
at the surface, 


History of Operations, 


Lead mining in this district began about 1808 and there is 
Cefinite informration that "The Perkiomen Mining Company" wes mining 
Jesd ore in’ 1609, Ore was first discovered along Mine Run, one-half 
mile northwest of the present village of Audubon and an 80-foot shaft 
was sunk. The company drifted 56 feet along the vein and crove 2 
drainage tunnel 356 feet from the bottom of the shaft to its outlet 
near the creek, Considernble ore was found but owing to misunder- 
standings among individuals the works were abandonec in 1810. 


There is 2 break in the record of mining between 1826 and 1851, 
but we learn that when in 1835-36 standard weights and measures of 
Americon metals were ordered by Congress for the U. S. Treasury the 
zinc used was obtained from a mixture of the Perkiomen and Franklin 
Furnace, N. J. ores. This seems to have been the first utilization of 














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American zine ores, Up to that time lend and zine ores had been 
worked solely for the lead content. 


On February 15, 1851 2 charter was granted The Perkiomen Con- 
solidated Mining Company. ‘The company sreanized "for the purpose of 
mining, selline, or smelting copper and lead ores, and erecting the 
necessary buildings and machinery for such purposes, and 2s such, 
Shall heave power to lense or purchase the Perkiomen and Ecton mines, 
and certain other mines and mining lands,-and 211 other estates of 
what kind soever, real, personal or mixed, situated in the counties of 
Montgomery and Chester." ‘The company was capitalized for #&300,000, 

On March 19, 1851, the capital stock had been subscribed ane a meeting 
of the stockholders was held in Philadelphia. 


About this time or perhaps a little earlier, lead and Zine ores 
were discovered along Pickering Creek, south of Phoenixville. In 
1850, the General Assembly passed acts of incorporation for the Chester 
County Mining Company, and for the Montgomery County Mining Company. 
The Wheatley Mining Company was also incorporated about the same time, 
for it started mining operations esrly in 1851, 


Between 1851 and 1855 lead and zine minins was actively carried 
on by & wumber of different companies in the two mining districts of 
Montgomery and Chester counties. From 1855 to 1865 ind perhaps a few 
years later some work was done on different properties at intervals, 
During the most active period more than a dozen separate and distinct 
lodes were prospected and considerable work was done on most of them. 
The lode most extensively worked was the Wheatley, Three companies, 
the Wheatley, Brookdale, and Phoenix operated on this lode bupyianwieba 
consolidated under the name.of the Pennsylvania Lead Company. 


A later consolidation was effected about 1864 in which the New ‘ 
York ana Boston Silver Lead Company acouired the Wheatley, Brookdale, 
Charlestown, Morris, and perhaps other properties, Considerable work 
was done in 1864 end 1865 in reopening the Wheatley and Brookcale 
mines, The date when work stopped is not known, but it is believed 
that all lead and 4ine minirg in both Montgomery and Chester counties 
had been abandoned before 1870, 


In 1918 the Eastern ifining and Milling Company leased the 
property on which the Chester County lode is located, and dewatered 
and retimbered part of the old workings, Some stopine and additional 
drifting was done and a small mill was built. Work was continued for 
about two years and some high erade ore was shipped. 


The Pennsylvania Lead and Zine Company and the Great Eastern 
Mining and Menufacturing Company are now trying to raise money for 
reopening some of these old mines. 


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Geological Occurrence of the Ore, 


For many years there has been no opportunity for study of the 
underground geology except in the Chester County lode; consecuently 
descriptions of the geological character of the lodes must be based on 
reports prepared during the time of their active exploitation. For 
that reason the report of H, D. Rogers in his "Geology of Pennsyl- 
vania” is the principal source of information extensively quoted here, 
Some lodes are in the Stockton formation of Triassic age, which is 
mostly red shale; others are in gneisses of both sedimentary and 
igneous origin. The Charlestown and Buckwater lodes lie within the 
area of Pickering grayvhitic gneiss, an altered sedimentary formation 
which contains workable beds of graphite a few miles farther west. 

The Montgomery, Chester County, Wheatley-Brookaale, Pennypacker, and 
a few unimportant unnamed lodes are in monzonite and granodiorite. 
The Napoleon and Pethericks Penn Mining Smelting Company lodes are 
included with the Baltimore gneiss, 


Rogers made a report™ on the district in 1853 from which the 
following facts are cerived, 


"Phe metalliferous lodes from the Ferkiomen mine in Montgomery 
County to the Charlestown mine in Chester County occur not far from 
the boundary between gneisses and the red Shale’and sandstone forma- 
tion. Some lodes are in one, some in the other, and some in both 
formations, Veins in the eneiss bear lead as their principal metal, 
whereas veins in red shale carry ores of copper; 4Zine ores prevail 
in both sets of veinss ‘The Perkiomen and Feton, United Mine, Shannon- 
ville South lodes, a lode on French Creek and one at Port Kennedy, 
and the tiorris lode near Phoenixville are predominatingly copper- 
bearing, and without exception are in the red shale formation. 


"On the other nand the Wheatley ana Brookdale, Chester County, 
llontgomery, and Charlestown lodes are lead-bearing and lie within the 
gneissic rocks, These relations are generalizations from which some 
veins deviate, 


"Phe lodes cut or intersect the beds of the gneiss, following 
neither strike nor dip, They are remarkably similar in course ranging 
N. 32° - 35° E,. and they dip to the southeast. 


"The predominant material in all these lodes is quartz, then 
pyrite and barytes. The different lodes differ more, perhaps, in the 
amount and distinctness of the gossan than in almost any other 
particular, Sundry assays of its gzossans show an average of 10 
ounces of silver to a ton,” 


ilineralogical Character of the Ores 


The Phoenixville mines have long been known to mineralogists for 
the variety, perfection and beauty of mineral specimens found there, 


onan é . 4 


Rogers, H. De. Geology of Pennsylvania, Vol. II, pp. 699-705, 1858, 





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Even yet the old mine dumps are frequently visited by mineral hunters 
who are usually successful in finding some interesting specimens. 
The following minerals have been reported from the mines, 


Lead Minerals Zine Minerals 


Common Common 
Galena Sphalerite 
Pyromorphite Calamine 
Anglesite 
Cerussite 

Rare Rare 
Wulfenite Smithsonite? 
Descloizite Hydrozincite 
Mimetite 
Vanadinite 
Stolzite 
Mendipite? 


Other Minerals, 


Common Rare 
Quartz Gersdorffite 
Calcite Bournonite 
Aragonite Hematite 
Dolomite Native Silver 
Ankerite Sulphur 
Barite Amethyst ~ 
Pyrite Chalcedony 
Limonite Greenockite 
Goethite Arsenopyrite 
Pluorite Dioptase? 
Marcasite? 
Millerite? 


Copper Minerals 
Common 


Chalcopyrite (some 
auriferous) 

Chalcocite 

Cuprite 

Malachite 

Azurite 


Rare 


Covellite 
Native Copper 
Melaconite 
Pseudomalachite 
Erythrite 
Chalcanthite 
Bornite 
Chrysocolla 
Libethenite 


Galena, pyromorphite, and sphalerite are the only minerals of 
economic importance in all the mines worked for lead and Zinc, 
Chalcopyrite is the only mineral present in commercial quantities in 


the mines worked for copper, 


J, Lawrence Smith™ in a description of the minerals of the 
Wheatley Mine gives the following account of the occurrence of the 


minerals with depth, 








* Amer, Jour, of Science, Vol, 20, Second Series, 1855, 


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eo+eeeeein Opening the vein and descending from the surface for 
the first thirty feet, the phosnhate of lead was very abundant with 
Some galena and carbonate; a little lower down the phosphate was less, 
and the carbonate more abundant. ‘Wulfenite and anglesite began to 
appear at 120 feet, the phosphate and carbonate still continued with 
the galena with fine large crystals of anglesite and considerable 
wulfenite; at 180 feet, phosphate very much diminished, carbonate and 
Sulphate in fine crystals; arsenate was found here; at "240 feet, 
blende, calamine and fluor spar appear with considerable colomite and 
but little phosphate of lead, galena forming almost the whole lead ore, 
anglesite is found, but in smaller crystals," 


This variation in the character of the ores shows that there has 
been considerable leaching of the lead and zine minerals in the wpper 
levels and enrichment at lower levels, the thickness of the enriched 
Zone has not been determined and it is not known whether the deepest 
workings were still in the enriched zone or in the underlying primary 
un-enriched portion of the lodes. 


One of the most interesting features of these mines in comparison 
With other lead and zinc mines was the great abundance of pyromorphite 
present. It was the principal ore mineral found in the upper levels. 
For a time it caused considerable difficulty in smelting but this was 
later overcome, 


In the deeper levels the galena and sphalerite were about equally 
abundant. ‘Within the vein certain streaks or pockets contained only 
galena, others only sphalerite, and others intimate mixtures of the 
two. Both minerals are coarse grained and due to perfect cleavage 
aresvery bravile andreadily broken, 


The galena is argentiferous, the amount of silver in it varying 
up to 120 ounees to the ton. According to certain writers the galena 
averaged from 11 to 16 ounces of Silver to the ton but others esti- 
mated it to average from 26 to 30 ounces. 


The lodes vary in width up to 5 feet with an average of about 2 
feet. In most places the major part’of the lode is composed of 
gangue material consisting of cuartz, decomposed rock constituting 
clay or gouge with small amounts of the otner minerals listed above, 
In some places the veins contained practically no ore minerals but on 
the other hand a thickness of 4 feet of solid galena was encountered 
in one place in the Brookdale mines 


A description of the Wheatley mine by William PF, Blake™ states 
that "the mining operations have sufficiently developed the character 
of the vein to Show beyond a doubt that the ore is distributed in 
elongated patches or shoots along the vein, having a vertical rather 
than norizontal ext scene Loni Ny and lying paraliel with each other, They’ 
are also found to @: Cy not only with the vein, but obliquely upon it, 
plunging towards the wes Hist mn ayete (ot 459, oBhese shoots vary din 
Size? t vom a sew inehnes to tour jor five’ feet in. transverse: section, 
While theiy lensth from above downwards is much greater, 





—— 


* The Wheatley Silver lead ‘Minés. ‘lining Magazine ana Journal of 
Geology, Second Serics, Vol. 1, pp. .411-418, 1860. 


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"The distribution of the minerals in the shoots is also an 
interesting point, Captain Cockin has observed that in passing 
through a shoot, blende is most abundant on each side, while the 
central portion is “occupied by galena and lead salts." 


The following section across Chester County lode, measured by 
the writer, Shows the same characteristics. 


Inches 
Foot wall, slickensided gneiss 
Thin streak of galena in Shattered quartz----- ~--a~ Pa 
Barren impure quartz --~--~---~------------------ Staten 
Streak of sphalerite in quartz ----~---------------- wk 
shattered quartz and decomposed rock with nests of 
white quartz and small bunches of galena -------- 31 


Streak of galena, and cuartz with some clay gouge --- 3 to 6 
Open fissure, walls lined with quartz crystals with 

occasional crystals of galena ------------ —------ re 
Hanging Wall. 


The variation in the width of the vein and the distribution of 
the ore minerals within the vein make it difficult to estimate the 
average yield of the lodes, Hogers states that at one place in the 
Wheatley mine he estimated the lode to yield 1¢ to 1$ tons of good 
ore per square (cubic?) fathom and in another plans 3 tons, <But 
there are other vlaces where. the yield might be only a few pounds per 
square fathom. According to Blake* there were more than 4000 feet of 
drifts alone the lode in thé Wheatley mine and the amount of ore 
raised was 1800 tons, most of which yielded 60 per cent of lead and 
an average of 26 to 30 ounces of silver to the ton, We know that 
considerable stoping was done and this is probably not included in 
the 4000 feet of drifts. It is probable that the bulk of the ore 
came from stopes some of which are described by Rogers as having been 
Garried up to a height of 30 to’ 55 feet. It would therefore, seem 
probable that the average yield of the lode per square fathom was 
very low. It must be recognized, however, that at that time little 
attention was given to the Zine ores as only lead and silver possessed 
value, 


Origine 
The lead, zinc, and copper lodes of Chester and Montgomery 
counties are of hydrothermal origin. They have been formed by «'",'3 


deposition from heated solutions probably siven off from some deep- 
seated igneous masses, They are fissure veins and may follow faults 
wholly or in parti In the Chester County loée the foot-wall is 
prominentjy slickensided and in places the hanging wall also shows 
Slickensices, In the Wheatley mine the vein cuts three trav dikes 

nat nave been displaced several feet. On the mine dumps one also 
finds occasional pieces of slickensided rocxss, However, one cannot 
say wnetner faulting preceded the deposition of the lodes or not, The 
Shatterec character or the gansue and ore minerals and the presence of 


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Clay gouge and open quartz-lined fissures indicate that there has 
been at lcast some displacement following the formation of the lodes. 


The lodes arc of Triassic or post-Triassic age as proved by the 
fact that they cut the Triassic shales of the Stockton formation and 
the trap dikes that are so commonly found as intrusives of the 
Triassic rocks of the State, 


In every case the lodes have undergone secondary changes through 
the agency of downward: percolating waters. The gossan and cavernous 
quartz of the outcrops, the secondary mincrals such as pyromorphite, 
cerussite, anglesite, calamine, ete,, some of which are found at 
considerable depths, furnish evidence of the extensive alteration 
which the lodes have undergone. 


The abundance of pyromorphite is difficult to explain as there 
is now no evidence of the source of the phosphoric acid. It is 
possible that there were some phosphatic beds in the overlying Triassic 
strata now removed by erosion, but this is only a conjecture, 


| It seems that Rogers probably over-emphasized the distinctions 
between the lodes lying within the gneisses and those found in the 

Shale areas although he was correct in pointing out general differences. 
Undoubtedly the shales tended to cause the deposition of the primary 
chalcopyrite to a greater degree than did the gneisses and vice versa 
the gneisses had a selective reaction on the solutions causing 

greater deposition of the galena than is found in the veins enclosed 

by the Triassic shales, 


Description of Ifines. 


Perkiomen Mine, The Perkiomen mine is the oldest of this 
district, for nearly 60 years no work has been done there and at 
present only the ruins of the old shafts and the extensive mine dumps 
furnish evidence of the former operations, It was stated in 1826 

that the mine had a 160-foot shaft and drifts aggregating several 
hundred feet in length driven at different levels. The vein ranged 
in thickness from 15 inches to 5 feet, with shoots of greater 
dimensions. The gangue of quartz and barytes carried lead, copper, 
iron, and Zine minerals and was regarded as a lead mine. When most 
actively worked in the early 50's, it was-considered as a copper mine. 
There are records of 151 tons of copper ore shipped to England and 
Baltimore during 1858 and 6% tons of lead ore sent to the Bay View 
Smelting Works on Staten Island, * 


In 1863 the Perkiomen Mining Company issued a prospectus in theiz 
attempt to secure capital to reoven the mine. The following excerpts 
from this pamphlet may therefore in some particulars be unduly 
optimistic although doubtless essentially correct, 


Mr, Charles P, Williams, who calls himself a "Chemist and Mining 
Geolosist” gives the following deseriptions: 


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"Veins of the Property of the Perkiomen Company. 


"The several veins on the property of the Perkiomen Mining 
Company are confined entirely to the sandstone. Their main, though 
not sole metalliferous ingredients, is therefore some of the combina- 
tions or copper; a small amount of galena and the oxidized ores of 
lead occur in them however, They are made up of quartz, sulphate of 
Baryta or heavy spar, and gossan or ferruginous matter, with yellow 
copper ore (chalcopyrite, yielding, when pure, 34.5 ner cent or 
copper) and green carbonate (malachite, yielding about fifty-six per 
cent of metal,) disseminated throughout. ‘Quartz is the predominating 
vein-stone. Zinc blende occurs, at times, in them in very considerable 
quantities. The vein on the property of the Perkiomen Mining Company 
differs in no wise from the other veins in the same formation in the 
composition and structure of its vein-stuff, consisting, like all the 
Other cupriferous lodes of the district, of cuartz, heavy spar and 
gossan with malachite and copper pyrites. It var ies in thickness from 
two to twenty feet. While it has show itself in many portions 
exceedingly rich, the ores appear to be very irregularly disseminated, 
occurring in heavy bunches and masses rather than being uniformly 
distributeds, The operations thus far conducted in this vein snow that 
the limits of such masses of ore are marked by the occurrence of large 
deposits of blende, The yield of ore seems to have been about one ton 
per cubic fathom, and the yield of refined Conye about 19 per cent, 
or 380 pounds per ton of ores 


"A mass of cupriferous minerals 60 feet long and 18 feet wide on 
the firtty fatnom level east of the Shaft and increasing in size cown- 
ward had the apvearance of highly »vroductive ground. Ore carrying 
about 8 per cent copper is reported as remaining in abundance in the 
stoves on the 10 and 20-fathom levels, West of the shaft on the forty 
fathom level is a good lode 200 feet long that will yield a large 
amount of 8 or 10 per cent ores 


‘'Phere is also whole ground from five hundred to six hundred feet 
long, between the Perkiomen and Ecton mines, as yet undeveloped, and 
there is no reason why this piece of new eround Should not be as 
profitable as any ground in the Perkiomen mine, as there are shafts on 
each end or it, and there is no other expense required but to drive 
the levels to open it for stoping." 


Ecton Ifine. A short distance south of the Perzxiomen mine is the 
old Ecton mine. This mine seems to have been located on a similar but 
distinct lode. Few detailed descriptions of it are available. The 
mine dumps woulc seem to indicate that a fairly large amount of work 
was done there, ‘On ‘lay 1, 1853 at the 54-fathom level the lode was 
"three feet wide, composed of quartz, spotted with copper pyrites,” 
and at the 66 fathom level it was from 3 to 8 feet wide with "a very 
promising appearance, but at present poor.” 





Little or nothing is known of the lode or mine workings at-Port 
Kennedy loce, Shannonville South lode, United mine, Morris mine, anc 
Jug Hollow mine, 








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Wheatley Hine. The most important mine of the mineral belt of 
Montgomery and Chester counties is the Wheatley mine. It has been 
daéscribed many times 2s have also the’minerals which were obtained 
there by mineralogists. The Wheatley, Brookdale, and Phoenix mines 
were all located on the heatley lode. This lode is 2% miles south of 
the business center of Pheenixville, 


Rogers in his Geology of Pennsylvania published in 1858 says that 
in May 1853 this remarkably regular silver-lead vein had been mined at 
intervals for about 3100 feet. The Wheatley and Brookdale engine- 
Shafts are 2076 feet apart on the lode. In the Wheatley mine the vein 
has been opened for 1111 feet and in the Brookdale mine for 456 feet, 
Between the two mines there remains 1501 feet in which the lode has 
not been proved. The vein is 1 to 2 feet wide, averaging 18 inches 
in the Wheatleymmine and 2 feet in the Brookdale mine. The dip of 
the vein is 68° to 76° and the lode seems to improve with depth. The 
fossan is silver-bearing and the proportion of galena increases with 
depth, This vein is of true igneous origin from a source deep within 
the.earth, It cuts three small dykes of trap rock and therefore is 
of later date than the dykes. 


The mines on the Wheatley lode yielded good ore from several 
Stopes and in 1853 good stoping ground remained untouched. The 
Wheatley lode has several branch veins which fork off and, for the 
most part, re-enter the lode, thus completely surrounding a block of 
wall rock, The branch veins are only a few inches thick but carry 
good lead ore, | 


Rogers says "I-cannot conclude this descrintion on the Wheatley 
and Brookdale lodes, and the two mines recently wrought in it, without 
expressing, in distinct terms, my conviction, that the whole vein, as 
far as opened, holds out a good promise of permanency and richness, 
or, in other words, ot fair remunerative profit, if efficiently and 
frugally wrought." The \Wheatley shaft at that time was 20 fathoms or 
120 feet deep, 


Brookdale Mine, The vein in the:-Brookdale mine has the same 
character as that in the Wheatley mine, and there is every indication 
that it is one continuous lode. "Several:tons of marketable ore were 
obtained at no greater depth than some 20 feet; and below this level 
the vein steadily improves in richness in the shaft. On the whole, 
the indications of a productive vein in the lower levels of this mine 
seem encouraging." The shaft was 75 feet deep in 1853, 


Phoenix Mine. The Phoenix mine was also opened on the i/heatley 
lode but it seems to have been worked only to a slight extent. There 
was a 95-foot shaft on the property in May 1855 and was "developed to 
an extent of about 400 feet long.” This probably means that some 
Gcrifting was done on the vein. 


Chester County Mine, The Chester County lode lies just west of 
the Wheatley lode and strikes in such a direction as to intersect it 
if prolonged a few hundrec wards, Neither lode has been worked 
sufficiently to determine whether they do intersect. 


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The date of opening the Chester County mine is not knowm but when 
a new company tool: possession in June 1850, the mine had four shafts, 
Some drifts, and an’ 838-foot adit. The adit cut a 5-foot vein, 270 
feet from its mouth, but which contained only "gossan and spar." 
Seven hundred feet from the mouth a so-called "Ccopper-vein"” was 
encountered "containing spar, gossan, mundic (pyrite), small quanti- 
ties of yellow copper ore, and occasional stains of green phosphate of 
lead." ‘The principal lead lode was encountered at 837 feet. A drift 
had been driven’185 feet on the copper vein that varied from 22 to 30 
inches in width, and on the lead vein there had been 548 feet of 
drifting done. About 20 tons of dressed ore had been obtained prior 
to June 1850, 


York continued until June 9, 1853, when it no longer became 
profitable to work the mine on account of the rise in the cost of 
mining labor and the increasing abundance of Zine ore encountered for 
which there was no use, During the three years between June 1850 and 
June 1853 several shafts were sunk and a large amount:‘of drifting done, 
On the 10-fathom level there were 1342 feet of drifts, on the 20- 
fathom level 1130 feet, and on the 30-fathom level 916 feet, 


Prom Nov. 1, 1851 to Nov. 1, 1852 the mine yielded 443 tons of 
ore. A smelter was erected by the Company at which the output of this 
mine as well as that from other mines in the vicinity ,from tanoaster 
County, and from New York and Arkansas were reduced, 


The vein is approximately vertical and ranges from 2 to 5 feet 
wide. It consists mostly of clay gouge and shattered quartz carrying 
lenses of galena and sphalerite,. 


In 1918 and 1919 the old workings were restored, some drifts were 
extended, stopes and winzes driven, and a small concentrating mill 
was erected, One hundred tons of concentrates Shipped June 1, 1920 
averaged 79 ver cent lead and 73 ounces of silver per ton. Consider- 
able zine ore remains at the mine. 


Montgomery County Mine, This mine was on a lode about + mile 
west of the Wheatley lode. In 1853 there was one shaft 118 feet deep, 
three shallow sharts, and an adit, Besides the main vein, an adit cut 
4 parallel veins’ 3 to 16 inches. wide. 


Galena, cerussite, and sphalerite were found in considerable 
abundance and all contained silver, especially the galena, some of 
which yielded 15 to 18 ounces per ton, 


The width of the main lode and its characteristics are not known, 
Difficulty was experienced in smelting pyromorphite and argentiferous 
eossan, the orincipal silver-lead ore. 


Charlestown Mine. The Charlestown lode lies more than 4 mile 
west of the Wheatley lode, It was worked less than some other lodes, 
but in 1852 had been opened by an adit for more than 800 feet-but at. 
not more _than’40 feet below the surface, The lode is in gneiss, dips 
about 70 SE., and is 2 to 4 feet wide, exceeding materially the width 


of the sheatley lode. The ore in the Shallow adit then existing was 


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poor, but the vein was so nearly identical with the Wheatley, which 
was equally impoverished near the surface, that Rogers said of it "I 
hesitate not to pronounce it, from all its external and general 
indications, quite as promising a repository of lead." 


Other Lodes.- No definite information has been obtained regard- 
ing the Buckwater, Pennypacker, Napoleon, and Pethericks Penn mines 
or lodes which are shown on Roger's map in this same neighborhood. 


Future Development. 


At the present time two companies are endeavoring to secure 
funds to re-open the mines south of Phoenixville. Their interest is 
in the Wheatley and Chester County lodes. They consider that the 
history of the region and the data available concerning the ore bodies 
justify the expenditure of considerable sums of money in re-opening 
and re-equipping the mines. If they are successful in securing funds 
these active operations may be resumed at an early date, As in most 
mining districts there is no positive assurance that the operations 
will be successful, but there does seem to be considerable justifica- 
tion for a wise and conservative investigation to be made, provided 
the investors appreciate the true situation, which obviously involves 
considerable. financial risk. 


Selected Bibliography. 


Besides reports listed on preceding pages, the following are of 
Special interest, 


Wetherill, John P., Observations on the Geology, ifineralory, ete., of 
the Perkiomen Lead Mine, in Pennsylvania: Jour. Acad. Nat. Sei., 
Philadelphia, pp. 305-316, 1827 (7) 


Various Reports of the Board of Directors and the Superintendent of the 
Chester County Mining Company, Philadelphia, 1851-53, First report 
for 1851 contains a geological report (pp, 19-28) by F. A. Genth. 


Frazer, Persifor Jr.; Geology of Chester’County: Pennsylvania Second 
Geological Survey, Report C4, 394 pp., 1883, 


Lyman, Benj. S., The New Red of Bucks and Montgomery Counties: 
Pennsylvania Second Geol. Survey, Summary Final Report, vol. 3, 
Rie whe solos, LAS) 


Mason, John W., Two’Old Appalachian Copper Mines: Eng. and ilining 
pourra L Vola 99) pi 7460 1916, 


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Location of mines and lodcs near Phocnix Get OS AB by al 
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lassic, mostly ree ghale gb gabbroa 
er eranite 
€0r Shenandosrh lincstonc 
(Cambro-Ordovician) Pen Pickering eneiss 


€c Chickies quartzite (Cambrian) Ben Baltimore gneiss 


Mines anc Lodes. 


1 Buckuater 6. Wheatley Ji, .Pethericks. Penn 
ae Charlestown 7, Brookdale 12, Perkiomen 

on iontgomery 8, Roberts LR Rs A eer aaein ies 0) 

4, orris 9. Pennypacker 14, Shennonville 

5, Chester County 10, Napoleon south 


Lo37 (Port Kennedy 


Loces, 
location mown 


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